Printing machine



May 2, 1950 E. T. KNITTER PRINTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.18, 1945 INVENTOR. ELMER 7: KNITTE'R A T TORNEY BIT/4,4

May 2, 1950 E. T. KNITTER 2,595,900

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 18, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ELMER7T KN/TTEI? i a M ATTORNEY y 1950 E. T. KNITTER 2,505,900

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 18, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet a //0 INVENTOR.

YELMER r KN/TTER A T TORNEV ATTORNEY m w 4 R a m 5 e 0 MN 5, .v 0 M 2 m6 2 1 1r x 9 R 4 WW4 w E 9 9 u M Ill L m u n E H 6 R m 9 I E H Mr n m wm RM N G Q m m m 7. Y E m 5 M l 0 8 /2 w m mm 0% l t a m C 9 .J 9 2 5IV? d [5 y e F. a u M F 3 Patented May 2, 1959 stares Aren't OFFICEClaims.

My invention relates to apparatus for stamping or embossing, and moreparticularly, to' a machine useful for applying monograms, initials, orother legends to objects such as playing cards, pencils, or any of ahost of similar articles.

Hitherto machines useful for work of this kind have been relativelycomplicated and expensive in addition to being operable only by highlyskilled persons. Hence it has been the general custom of manufacturersto apply legends to articles at the factory and supply to the retailoutlets complete sets of monogrammed articles. The result has beenunsatisfactory since it is impossible accurately to predictwhat initialsor legends will be most indemand.

The most important objectof the present invention is to provide asimple, efficient machine, capable of being used by unskilled personsand by means of which small articles may be rapidly stamped or embossedin the retail storetosuit the demands of the individual customer whilethe customer waits.

A further object of my invention is to improve the quality and accuracyof an embossing machine.

Still another object of my inventionis to reduce the cost of anembossing or stamping machine to such an extent that it becomeseconomically practical to install such machines in retail stores.

One feature of my invention resides in anautomatic clutch control whichis operated upon the insertion in the machine of an article to bestamped or embossed and which causes the ma chine to eifect one completecycle and then stop.

Another feature of the invention consists in mechanism capable ofautomatically pressing an embossing tape upon an article, ejecting theenibossed article, and advancing the tape one step) to prepare themachine for a subsequent operation.

Still another feature of the invention com prises mechanism capableeither of automatic operation upon articles of predetermined dimeii?sion or of manual operation upon articles of 'ii'- regular or unusualsize.

mechanism for feeding tape from a reel across where the tape is pressedagainst "an artic Furthermore, in the cycle of thinachine th tape isautomatically advanced one step afte 2 each stroke of the carriage, andan ejector is actuated to remove the stamped object from the support.

These and other objects and features of my invention will be morereadily understood and appreciated from the following detailed descrip},

tion of a preferred embodiment being selected for purposes ofillustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in cross-section ofthe machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in cross section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section through the clutch mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the clutch-control and ejectormechanisms;

Fig. '7 is aview in perspective showing details of the pencil support;

Fig. 8 is a View in cross section along the line 8-8 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 9 is a view in end elevation of the clutchcontrol trip mechanism,parts being broken away to show details thereof;

Fig. 10 is a view in cross-section along the line |Ul0 of Fig. 11; and

Fig. 11 is a View in cross section along the line ll-ll of Fig. 10.

Before proceeding toe. detailed description of the elements of themachine shown in the drawings, I shall discuss briefly theinstrumentalities of primary significance and explain their interrelation.

Upon the forward end of the base H of the machine is provided a spacefor support of an object to be stamped. For example, in Fig. 10

a playing card I is shown partially inserted.

on the support. Poised above the support is a w carriage 68 on the endof which is mounted a heated embossing die as, and a strip of tape a; isshown positioned between the die and the support. Behind thesupport forthe card E58 .is shown an ejector I28.

In the operation of the machine the carriage 68 is driven downwardly tocarry the die 83 into engagement with the tape 96. Subsequently the diepresses the tape firmly against the upper surface of the card lafi. IThe tape as is gilded, silvered or otherwise colored, and the pressure'of' the heated die 83 effects an embossing of the Ev back of the card[543. In the following portions of the cycle of the machine, thecarriage 53 is moved upwardly, the tape 95 is advanced a predetermineddistance to present a fresh portion thereof beneath the die 83, and theejector is operated. to kick the card its from the support. The machinemay be secured to a counter or bench or, if it is desired to render themachine portable, it may be mounted on a wooden block id. The machine isorganized about a metal base plate H and a frame comprising a pair ofupstanding parallel walls l? and is secured to opposite sides of thebase plate ll. At their upper ends the walls carry a rectangular memberit which forms, with a cover plate i5, a housing it containing a powersupply switch il and an electric socket iii for the electric cord to theheating element 86.

An electric motor 28 is mounted on four legs 2! which are secured to thebase ll. Upon the outer end of the motor shaft 212 a worm 2.3 is fixedin position to mesh with a worm wheel 23 mounted for free rotation upona shaft journalled in the walls i2 and it of the machine frame. Fast tothe worm wheel 2 is a clutch disk 25 having a large central recess inone face including in its periphery a series of re-entrant notches 25arranged as the points of a star. A disk 27, keyed to the shaft carriesa pivotally mounted pawl or cam 28 normally urged into engagement withone of the notches 25 by a compression spring at. The disk 27, the cam28, and the member 25 comprise a clutch operable to couple the shaft 38to the worm wheel 25...

To control the operation of the clutch I have employed mechanismincluding a rock shaft 33 journalled in a pair of upstanding ears orlugs 32 secured to the base H and carrying a plate 35 cut to fit thecontour of the disk 2'? and carrying a stop bar 3?. On one end of therock shaft 53 is mounted a pin 34 carrying a weight 35 so arranged as torock the stop 37! into position to engage the pawl 2t and pivot it outof contact with the notches 26. The shaft Bil is then uncoupled from theworm drive. At the other end of the shaft 33- there is mounted a pin ilextending downwardly into a hole cut in the base H (see Fig. 9). Also,the shaft 33 carries a collar 38 provided with an integral lug se uponwhich bears the lower end of a plunger 32?. It will be evident that theshaft 33 may be actuated either by movement of the pin ii or of theplunger Such motion frees the cam 28, permitting it to engage one of thenotches 26 and start the shaft 3% turning. If the weight 35 is nowallowed to rock the shaft 33 to initial position, the stop bar 3? willengage the cam 28 when it has traveled 369 degrees and then stop themotion of the shaft 353.

It is contemplated that the clutch be actuated by the insertion of anarticle in the machine. As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, a playing card itsis placed upon the base H in an area protected by a safety guard rail:38. As the card travels along the base i: it encounters a ball bearingheld in an inverted cup 46' carried by a bracket 2- secured to the base1!. The ball bearing holds the card ltd flat upon the base ii. When thecard E56 reaches a predetermined position it engages the pin ll, andmovement of the card to final position causes the pin il to rock theshaft 33 and trip the clutch.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4, I have shown a disk 5"? mountedeccentrically on the shaft 33 and arranged to turn in the hub of apitman so the upper end of which terminates in a clevis 59. A cross pin5' works in opposed slots 55! cut in the side members of the clevis 49,and a piunger 52 seated in a hole 5i cut in the pitman is urged by aspring 53 against a lever 55 pivotally mounted on the pin 5A. The lever55 is secured to a bracket 55 pivotally mounted on a stub shaft Elcarried by the frame walls l2 and it. It will now be evident thatrotation of the shaft 3 acting through the eccentric and pitman causesthe lever 55 to rock about the stub shaft 51.

Projecting from the walls I2 and i3 is a pair of parallel arms 58 joinedat their outer ends by a cross piece iii and carrying a cover plate 60.These members form a frame or housing through which the plunger itextends. A spring 59, encompassing the upper end of the plunger it andbearing upon the plate 89 and an enlarged head is on the plunger so,serves to prevent the plunger from actuating the clutch control shaftuntil sufiicient force is brought to bear on the head is to cause theplunger to depress the lug 39.

Secured to the cross piece BI is a pair of vertical parallel guide barsG4 between which slides a bar 65. A cross bar 63 extending between thearms 53 serves as a rear guide for the bar 25. A bolt 67 engages a holetapped in the upper end of the bar 65 and bears against aspringdepressed friction pin 66. The bolt t! serves to determine thedepth of movement or the bar 55. The pin it prevents the bolt 6"! fromturning of its own accord. The outer end of the lever 55, in its stroke,drives the bar 65 downwardly, and a tension spring l8 secured to thecross-piece 6i and the bar 65 serves to return the bar 55 when the upperend of the lever 55 is moved upwardly.

The bar 65 carries a rack H engaging a pinion 12 fast upon a shaft 13mounted in a pair of brackets secured to the guide bars 64. On the outerend of the shaft 73 there is a pin 69 working in a clevis on the end ofa handle 75. The shaft 73 is free to rock without moving the handle, butif the handle 75 is rocked to the left (see Fig. 1), the shaft 73 turns,and the pinion l2 forces the rack H and the bar 65 downwardly againstthe action of the spring Hi. When the handle is released, the spring IE!returns the bar 65 to its initial position. A stop pin H3 secured to thewall it limits motion of the handle '35.

As shown particularly in Fig. 2, a base member fl is secured to thebottom of the sliding bar 55 by a screw 18, and a pair of L-shapedmembers 86 secured to the base 71 form guides for a die holder 8| havingdownwardly extending parallel flanges for clamping a stick of type. Thetype is shown at 83 and the slug or type base is shown at 82. The bar65, the base 71; and the members may be considered as a carriage, whichI have denoted by the general reference numeral 68. Any suitable die,stamp, embossing tool, or type may be mounted on the end of the bar 65,and it is contemplated that the operator of the machine will have athand complete alphabets of various styles of monograms, initials,legends, or ornamental devices. A suitable length of high resistancewire '84 such as Nichrome, is arranged about the base H in order to heatthe stamp or die electrically and produce an effective embossing orstamping of an article;

A bracket 99 secured to the wall [3 supports a horizontal rod 9! whichcarries a reel 92. The reel is secured against lateral displacement by acollar 93 fast upon the outer end of the rod 9! assesso and by a spring94 hearing against the reel and I The reel may conveniently be woundwith'ordinary a-second collar: 95 secured-to the rod SI.

embossing tape 96'; either gilt, silver, or other suitable color. Thetape 96 is led from the reel 92 down beneath the guard rail 66 and up onthe other side of the machine to a step-by-step feed mechanism by meansof which the tape 95 is advanced between the article support onthe base(I; I and the die or stamp carried by the carriage Secured to one of thearms 58 is a U-shapedframe member 91 inwhich is journalled a stub Theshaft BB'carrying a rubber feed roll I06. frame-91 also looselysupports-a second stub shaft IGI mounted above and parallel to the shaft93. A metal roll IIi2-secured tothe shaft IGI has a pair of knurledflanges cooperating with the feed roll Ifill. A plate IE3 is forked toprovide two arms I04 bearing-on the-stub shaft ml and has lar I Ithaving an integral lug carrying a pivotally' mounted pawl III whichnormally engages a ratchet wheel I 09 keyed to the shaft t8. A pin H2mounted on the frame 97 provides a pivotal mount for a second pawl II 3urged against the ratchet by means of a spring (not shown). Pawl II3prevents the rubber roller I from backing up.

One end of a turnbuckle EM is pivotally connected to the collar I I0,and the other end thereof is pivotally mounted at one end of a lever II5 which traverses the machine and connects pivotally to another leverIIIi secured to one of the guide bars 64. The lever II5 rests againstastop II? secured to the carriage '58. When the carriage descends, thestop also lowers and .permits the lever H5 to drop. This motion retractsthe pawl II I along the ratchet I09. When the spring I0 moves thecarriage 58 upwardly, the stop II 7 lifts the lever H5 and causes thepawl I I I to turn the ratchet wheel I09. The feed rolls I00 and IE2then operate to advance the tape 95.

In order to control the rate at which the tape is advanced during acycle of the machine, I provide a stop bar IIB slidably mounted on oneof the brackets I l and maintained in position by means of aspring-pressed clamp I29. The bar H8 is widened at its lower end toprovide a shoulder Il8a (see Fig. 2) arranged to lie in the path of thefalling lever H5. By adjusting the bar IIB up or down the motion of thepawl II I is determined and the rate of feed of the tape 96 therebycontrolled. It is evident that the feeding motion begins shortly afterthe carriage 88 starts its upward movement.

The ejector mechanism will now be described with particular reference toFigs. 2, 4, and 6. Keyed to the shaft St is a cam H9 arranged to strikea follower I29 carried by a lever IZI pivotally mounted on a pin i22carried on the inner surface of the wall 13. A second lever 2 5 ispivotally connected to the lever i2! and to a lug I24 forming anintegral part of a plate I25. The plate I25 has a centrally locatedelongated slot mounted in the base I I and carrying'springs abouttheirshanks-tourge -the plate I25 against the flat surface of the base I I.Oneend of' the plate I24 is bent upwardlyto-form a flanged28." A springI30 is connected toa screw l3 I mounted on the base I I andtothe plate-l 24; As the shaft 30 turns; the cam I I9 acts through the levers I2Iand I28 topush the platetoward an article held The flange I 28 ejects"the article fromthe base II and itfalls-intoareceptacle I32 carriedby apair of pins Itfi on' the block It. Afterthe ca-m II 9 li'as passed' bythefollower I29, the spring I38 returns the under the ball bearing 45.

ejector to itsinitialposition.

The machineas described above is'set up par ticularly to emboss aplaying card I56 or a similar- A ledge Men the base I! servesto flatarticle. position the card for embossing or stamping.

downwardly traveling carriage 68:

'When cards areto be stampedthe machine is automatically tripped by theimpingement of a card against the pin 4|.

ill. When articles of irregular or unusual dimensions are to be embossedthe handle'ifi may be used to move the carriage 53' the proper distance.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the machine shownand described is but one possible embodiment of my invention. Manyvariations will be apparent, but the invention is to be measured byreference to the appended claims.

Having thus described and illustrated my invention, what I claim as newand desire to secure bylietters Patent of the United States is:

1. A stamping machine, including in combination a frame; a support foran article to be stamped, adjacent said frame; a drive shaft; means torotate said drive shaft; a second shaft mounted in said frame; clutchmeans, including a pawl keyed to said second shaft, for operativelyconnecting said drive shaft to rotate said second shaft; means normallyurging said pawl into a position when said clutch is engaged; meansincluding a weighted rocker shaft, to urge said pawl into a non-engagingposition; a lever system operated when an article is positioned in saidsupport in its correct stamping position to counteract said last-namedmeans and permit said pawl to engage said clutch means for one 360 turn;a die-carrying carriage mounted above said support in said frame formovement toward and away from said support; means urging said carriagenormally upwards; eccentric means operated by said second shaft to movesaid carriage down against an article placed in said support; means onsaid frame for mounting a roll of embossing tape; means on said frame topull said tape between said support and said carriage and out frombetween them; ratchet means on said tape-pulling means for moving saidtape in only one direction; and a lever system actuated by said carriageto slip said rachet during the down stroke of said carriage and engagesaid ratchet and move it during the up stroke thereof.

Otherwise the machine? may be placed in motion by pressing the plungerasor eoo- 2. A stamping machine, including in combina= tion aframe; asupport for an article to be stamped, adjacent said frame; a driveshaft; means to rotate said drive shaft; a second shaft mounted in saidframe; clutch means, inciuding a pawl keyed to said second shaft, foroperatively connecting said drive shaft to rotate said second shaft;means normally urging said pawl into a position when said clutch isengaged; means including a weighted rocker shaft, to urge said pawl intoa non-engaging position; a lever system operated when an article ispositioned in saidsupport in its correct stamping position to counteractsaid last-named means and permit said pawl to engage said clutch meansfor one 369 turn; a die-carrying carriage mounted above said support insaid frame for movement toward and away from said support; means urgingsaid carriage normally upwards; eccentric means operated by said secondshaft to move said carriage down against an article placed in saidsupport; means on said frame for mounting a roll of embossing tape;means on said frame to pull said tape between said support and saidcarriage and out from between them; ratchet means on said tape-pullingmeans for moving said tape in only one direction; a lever systemactuated by said carriage to slip said ratchet during the down stroke ofsaid carriage and engage said ratchet and move it during the strokethereof; and a cam keyed to said second drive shaft, an ejecting meansreciprocated horizontally by said cam to eject said article from saidsupport after it has been stamped.

3. A stam ing machine, including in combination a frame; a support foran object to be stamped, adjacent said frame; a carriage supported abovesaid support for reciprocation in said frame toward and away from saidsupport; means for urging said carriage normally upward; a die mountedon said carriage; means secured to said frame for supporting a roll ofembossing tape; means for feeding a predetermined amount of said tapefrom said roll between said die and said support on the upward stroke ofsaid carriage; means for ejecting an object from said support; a driveshaft mounted in said frame; means to rotate said drive shaft; a clutchcapableof employingsaid drive shaft to give the power to lower said dieto press said tape against said object, and then to release said die andallow it to pass upward, and the power to operate during said upwardstroke said ejecting means; and a lever operated by the object to bestamped to move said clutch to its engaging position.

i. A stamping machine, including in combination a frame; a support foran article to be stamped, adjacent said frame; a drive shaft; means torotate said drive shaft; a second shaft mounted in said frame; clutchmeans, including a pawl keyed to said second shaft, for operativelyconnecting said drive shaft to rotate said second shaft; means normallyurging said pawl into a position where said clutch is engaged; meansincluding a weighted rocker shaft, to urge said pawl into a non-engagingposition; a lever system operated when an article is positioned in saidsupport in its correct stamping position to counteract said last-namedmeans and permit said pawl to engage clutch means for one 360 turn;

a die-carrying carriage mounted above said support in said frame formovement toward and away from said support; means urging said carriagenormall upwards; eccentric means operated by said second shaft to movesaid carriage down against an article placed in said support; a camkeyed to said second drive shaft, an ejecting means reciprocal-tedhorizon ally by said cam to eject said article from said support afterit has been stamped.

5. The machine of claim 3 in which there is an electrically energizedheating unit mounted in said carriage adjacent said die, whereby saiddie is heated for transferring pigment from said embossing tape to saidobject.

ELMER T. KNIT'IER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,504,545 Chadwick Aug. 12, N241,910,918 Helm May 23, 1933 1,978,575 Funk Oct. 30, 1934

